Tales of Symphonia II : The Order of the New World
by shotgun.shoguns
Summary: More than twenty years after the world regeneration, we follow the daughter of Colette Brunel and Lloyd Irving as she sets off on a journey to seek revenge against the half-elves for an unspeakable crime.
1. Prologue

LAVERN IRVING

To me, the commotion produced in the small town of Iselia, even toward the late hours of the night, was completely normal. It had always been normal once the half-elves were removed from the village. They're crime was an unspeakable one, an unfathomable one. I didn't ever want to dwell on that past again. But I had to. For revenge. For Dad. For Lloyd Irving.

"Lavern, Lavern!"

In the distance, I saw my favourite person: Rhyme. He was an orphan of whom I found bunking at the Martel Orphanage. He was cute, attractive, but not of his own accord. This young boy had spent his eleven years dwelling in the self pity he shared with only himself.

Iselia had branched out into a town you could probably consider the size of.. Altamira. It wasn't a tourist spot or anything, but it contained many different and vital facilities. The Iselia Human Ranch was transformed into a plantation and small factory where many crops were produced. Part of the Iselia Forest was made into a large hospital facility. And of course, built near the Martel Temple was the Martel Orphanage. This was the perfect place where Martel, the goddess, could forever watch over the lost children of the world and guide them to a place where they could belong. That's what most believed to be true. That the goddess still existed in the heavens. I knew better.

I was born as a child of angels. Brought into this world by the light of the great Yggdrasill Tree, I was blessed. My mother was the Chosen of Sylvarant and my father was a hero. At least, in my opinion. They both saved the world, together. They told me stories of how they met the goddess and I was awestruck. How amazing it must've been! They informed me that the goddess could be among this world, among our people, even now. The mere thought of ever meeting her left me ecstatic. That is, until I learned what she really was.

Martel was half-elven, sister of Mithos, the ancient hero, and Yggdrasill, the enemy of this world. The lingering threat. Both the same person. Yggdrasill made the world in two. He created both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, as opposing forces, vying for mana. It was a terrible setup, and it took many sacrifices and mistakes until my parents and their companions could fix it completely.

Yggdrasill turned the half-elves into the enemy by creating Desians. They enslaved the human race and used the humans as catalysts to create expheres, stones able to further the limits of a human, elf, or anyone in between. For the longest time, all of humanity, on both worlds, felt some kind of fear when near them. Except for Dad. He treated two of his closest friends, Genis Sage and his older sister Raine Sage, as regular humans despite their half-elven blood. He was kind toward all. I held a great respect for my father because of that very kindness he possessed.

However, now, I could never hate that kindness more. I could never hate the half-elves more. They murdered my father. They were disgusting creatures, deserving of premature death.

"Lavern? Hey, you there?"

I blinked back to life, my thoughts scattering far into the depths of my mind.

"Yes? Oh, sorry. I must've blanked out.." I stumbled a little ahead of Rhyme, toward my home. I could rest one more night before it was time to go. Just one more night in my safe bed.

Without asking and without my noticing, Rhyme had taken one of my grocery bags from my arms and wrapped his around it. Looking at him, the progress he's made, all of my thoughts from earlier disappeared. I was safe near him, as he was near me.


	2. Chapter 1

The home that belonged to both Rhyme and myself was a cozy one. There was a fireplace and hardwood floors. Rhyme preferred buffing the floors regularly. He would always say that one day we would be visited by the mayor and he would want the house to be in tip top shape. I never thought Rhyme would be one for appearances, but I was a pretty messy person and he was already used to cleaning up after everyone else at the orphanage.

Still, I did feel some pity when I'd watch him on his hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor until there was nothing left but foundation.

Upon entering the house, Rhyme immediately started to empty the grocery bags into our starving cabinets. I hadn't had the money to spend on good food for a while so our cabinets were pretty vacant. This small amount of food was enough to have Rhyme doing cartwheels.

While Rhyme kept himself busy straightening up, I started to prepare dinner. He and I had much talking to do at the dinner table and I knew he wouldn't like what would have to be said. I decided to brown nose and create his favourite dish, pot roast. How could he be mad when he was biting into a tender piece of beef?

Quickly, I diced tomatoes and potatoes and threw them all into a large cooking pot, allowing them to simmer a bit over the fireplace. By this time, Rhyme was already getting a bath. Night was fast approaching. I felt a lump form in my throat and I figured that I must have been a little nervous about telling Rhyme what was to come. Nonetheless, I had to do just that. We had to leave Iselia the next morning and journey toward Mizuho, the information capital of the new world. I had to find Dad's killer and I would need my Godmother's help to do so. We had no more time to screw around here.

At about quarter of eight, Rhyme padded across the living room slowly, as if he were trying to savor every moment before we talked. As if he already knew what I was going to say.

"C'mon Rhyme," I coaxed him, "I've made your favourite meal tonight and it's getting colder as every second passes." I wafted the steam from the roast toward him, but it was a waster effort. Rhyme was the only kid I knew who could be mad when he was biting into a tender piece of beef. And boy, was he mad.

"But I haven't even said what I wanted to say yet," I protested. He was shaking his head negatively and I was pouting at him. Even puppy-dog eyes wouldn't break this boy's front.

"Save it."Rhyme swallowed some more roast and I wanted to take the bowl from him. But, I examined his figure and sighed in defeat.

"We're leaving in the morning," I told him. I didn't leave any room for objection. "We're going to Mizuho to find Sheena. I'm going to have her help me find my Dad's murderer." My head _was_ down, but I couldn't help it when I peeked up to look at his reaction. Dagger eyes. I groaned. He was making this harder than it needed to be.

"You know, Mizuho is the information capital. They might even know something about _you_." I had him interested now. The spoon he was grasping seconds ago slid from his hand into his bowl and he leaned in closer to me.

"So, you think they'll know something about my brother?" Rhyme was obviously excited about the trip. I had to suppress a smirk. I definitely had him interested.

"Yes, I promise they will." Along with my promise I included a reassuring smile. It was believable and it was enough for Rhyme. He stood up and pushed his chair in.

"I'll go pack," He said to me as he dropped his dish in the sink. He turned on his heel and headed out of our small kitchen. I watched him with weary eyes and was surprised to see a delay in his haste. He stopped at the kitchen's doorway and I waited.

"You're the best." And Rhyme hurried to his room. He caused a warm smile to play on my face. Caught up in the touching moment, I didn't notice how I was stabbing at my bowl for more meat. All that was left in it was broth. There was always an abundance of broth. I sighed and rose from my seat, pushing it in just as Rhyme had done. I dropped my plate on top of his and from the kitchen to his room I beckoned, "We're leaving at dawn!"


	3. Chapter 2

The sun was set high up in the sky. It's rays felt like whips crashing against tender skin as it bleed through the afternoon's wispy white heap of clouds. Throughout the town of Triet, villagers meandered around without aim. They stayed close to keep warm from the harsh, blowing winds. This small oasis village use to be a desert, but it could never pass as one now. Not after the Regeneration.

As I passed through this town, I could hardly feel the breeze. I _could_ feel Rhyme shivering beside me, squeezing my hand as if he would lose me if he ever let go. But still, something about this place made me feel at home. It was accepting me with open arms, or maybe running to me for help. I remembered the village in a different sort of way. It was dusty and dangerous in these memories. Except, I had never left Iselia once before now. How could I have memories of a place I'd never been to?

Snapping me back to reality was a relentless tugging of my overcoat. I blinked a few times and then looked down at Rhyme. His nose was pink as were his cheeks. I strained myself in trying to feel the obvious cold of Triet, but it was still embracing me with the warmness of a place I'd once known.

I knelt down to Rhyme's height, placing my hands on his shoulders. "What's the matter?" I asked him in a kind voice. We recently left our home and I knew that he was unstable. Anything could set him off into a crying fit.

"I'm cold," he replied, wiping at his nose with his sleeve.

I smiled at him, trying my hardest to keep it authentic, "Let's get a room at the inn, then." That was my solution. I wasn't enough for this boy. Especially now that I'd left the comfort zone. I found myself thinking that he would've been better off at the orphanage. I tried to shake that idea out of my mind as a led Rhyme into the inn. He wouldn't let go of my hand and I nearly dragged him down the entrance steps into the doorway. I was beginning to wonder if it wasn't just my imagination. If I actually was just really, _really_ warm and that warmth was radiating all around me. Perfect, I was my own space heater.

"Hi, welcome to the Sand's Breeze inn. We've recently remodeled the inn, so please tell us what you think of it," a perky young girl at the counter chirped. "One room is 500 gald, will you be staying?"

My jaw dropped, literally dropped. My eyes scanned the room, searching for any unfamiliar square inch. They fixed the damage dealt to the place and changed the name, that was the only difference I could tell. I didn't understand why they would raise the price so high. But, my eyes soon made their way back to Rhyme. He stared hopelessly at the wood of the counter. I couldn't tell if he was occupied, but he obviously hadn't been paying attention to the chipper female at the counter. Still, as I peeked down at him, I could see the bit of red at the tip of his nose. He chilled very easily. It was sweltering in here, after all.

"Ma'am?"

"Miss," I corrected. I was younger than this woman. I did not feel the need for her to respect me one bit. "I guess I could fork up the money for one room.." My statement trailed off at the end as my focus was split in two. Where did I put that gald? I doubted that I'd left it anywhere. Once my fingers traced over the familiar indents of a gald coin, I knew I had found what I was looking for.

"This should be enough." I slid the coins across the counter and stalked off before her high-pitched babble could change my mind.

When we entered the room, I was surprised to hear Rhyme's voice.

"Lavern, why did you pay so much gald for this? I don't _need_ it, you know." The sides of his lips tilted upward into a grin. "You're pretty warm, I could just use you." Rhyme _had_ been paying attention to the female at the counter_._

Finally, I returned his grin. "Yes, I would make a good space heater for the town, I'm sure they could use one. But, Rhyme.. You're worth the extra cents. You know that." I ruffled his hair the way I would always do before I walked over to my bed. Now that I sat down, I realized that I was _too_ hot. I'd removed my overcoat and clipped my hair back, but sweat still beaded all over my body. I pondered a fever but tossed the idea aside quickly. You would normally feel cold when you have a fever. I felt no where near cold.

I turned my head to the side so I could see what Rhyme was up to. I frowned. He must've been tired all of this time, but I never noticed. He was hidden by a heavy blanket—which _wasn't_ new—but I could still hear his soft snore. It calmed me some but not nearly enough. Just what was happening to me? I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my arm and stretched out on the soft, familiar comforter. Although I was very uncomfortable, I somehow found myself asleep in less than three minutes.


	4. Chapter 3

I awoke the next morning in what felt like a pool of sweat. I snapped my head in Rhyme's direction. He was still snoozing. I rubbed my eyes as I lifted myself from the stiff bed. I could now tell that Rhyme was shivering under his heavy comforter and my eyebrows pulled together. What was I missing? It couldn't be that cold..

"Oh my," I choked out as I pushed the curtains aside to see outside of our small window. A large sheet of snow covered the entire desert. I stumbled back a few feet and sat on the edge of my bed before I could fall over on my back. I grasped for the sheets on the bed and I felt the heat building in my body. My breathing became heavy and my heart began to palpitate. Before I knew what was going on, I had collapsed on my bed and everything became blurry until I had finally blacked out.

--

"Whew,"My exhaustion escaped through my lips as I fell onto the bed. My best friend beside me nodded in agreement. "You're telling me," he sighed. Both of us lay still for a few short minutes, but that didn't last long. I rose from my bed. Genis raised a slender eyebrow at me.

"What's up all of the sudden, Lloyd?" He asked me with a dull curiosity.

I grinned at him. "You know we can't rest long. We have to find Colette." And then my brows pulled together and my smile disappeared without a trace. We weren't trying to find Colette and help her. We were seeking her help. I felt rather pathetic.

Genis reluctantly rose from his spot and grabbed his travel bag from the corner. "Sure, sure," he answered , "We wasted a lot of money paying for these rooms just now. But, we can ask around town. I want to find my sister, too."

As I grabbed my swords, I nodded in agreement. I was glad that I wasn't bothering him too much. I strapped my twin blades on either side of my waist and headed out the door. It was even more hot and sticky in the halls of the inn than in the room. I sighed and walked rather sluggishly down the narrow steps with Genis following close behind. We were both pretty wiped out when we reached the bottom of the stairway and we slumped over as we padded toward the exit.

"Leaving so soon, boys?" I heard a chipper voice call from the counter. They were always so chipper. Maybe it was part of the job. I shrugged off the thought and turned my head toward her. I nodded slowly, "Yeah, we have some things we have to take care of.." And then I turned back around and sallied to the exit, eager to escape the stare of the young woman at the counter.

If I were eggs I would scramble in less than five seconds. The heat hit me like a crashing wave (okay, I wish it was like a crashing wave. I mean the impact more than the water versus fire thing). I found myself staring absently into the sky. The sun was slowly blinding me, but it didn't matter much at the time.

"Lloyd."

I heard something that sounded a little like my name, but I couldn't bring myself to respond.

"Lloyd."

"Hey Lloyd, you there?"

"L.."

--

"Lavern!" Genis was shouting now. Wait, this didn't make any sense. That was the voice of my beloved Rhyme, not Genis. "Lavern, please wake up.." I heard his voice break and felt something wet hit my cheek. Tears? With a sudden urgency, my eyes fluttered open and I stared blankly at Rhyme for a second. He was wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

"Rhyme?"I asked, not sure if I was back or not.

He nodded. "Lavern.. What happened to you?"

I found myself asking the same question. Just what had happened to cause such a thing? I remembered now the dream that I had while I was unconscious. I was present in the mind of my father. It must've been a while back. Eighteen years or so. He was with his half-elven friend, Genis Sage, in the desert oasis, Triet. And, by the looks of it, and also by what I felt, it was terribly hot there. Nothing like the desert was now. It was hot like how I've been feeling lately.

"Well?" I heard Rhyme asking me now. I could tell he was growing impatient with me.

I scratched my head, trying to sum things up, clipping away most of the unimportant information. With my cover story completed, I stood and found myself dizzy. Maybe sitting would be better.

"I guess I just passed out.. because, after I, um, woke up, I was still really tired. You see, I haven't gotten much sleep in the past week.." I was as transparent as glass. Thankfully, Rhyme trusted me. He knew I was lying, but he also knew I would tell him anything if it was important enough.

"Then, let's be on our way, okay? It's too cold here," Rhyme said to me, wrapping his arms around himself. I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure."

With that being said, the two of us grabbed our things and headed for the exit. Luckily, I learned a lesson from my father and avoided the lady at the counter. The last thing I would have wanted to do at that moment was talk with her. When we reached the threshold and exited the inn, I found my eyes wandering toward the sky in the same place my father once stared. All at once, the heat drained from my body and a cold breeze had me chattering my teeth in synchronization with Rhyme.


	5. Chapter 4

"It's about time," Rhyme said playfully, nudging me in the side as we walked down a familiar path in the small desert oasis. I laughed softly.

"I'm not built like a machine, you know. I just didn't feel the cold until now." I was about to add: for some strange reason, but I didn't need to have Rhyme worrying about trivial things like that. So, I shrugged off the odd feeling and welcomed in more uncomfortable ones, like cold, as snow found its way into the cracks between my toes. I really needed to pick myself up some boots on our next shopping spree. Jotting down mental notes in my noggin, I was surprised to hear Rhyme's bright and booming voice from just next to me. I hadn't noticed that we had stopped walking.

Lifting a slender brow at him, I asked, "What is this place?" It did indeed look familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.

"It's a fortune-teller's booth! I thought we could use her guidance for our journey to Mizuho," Rhyme replied to me an a matter-of-fact tone. Well, it _was_ a good idea.

"What business do you have in Mizuho?" I was surprised to see a rather.. developed figure hovering over both of our heads. Curiosity had me searching this woman up and down, scrutinizing her with my eyes. Even she had seemed familiar.

Finally, finding my voice hiding deep within my throat, I managed, "What's it to you?" The woman just glared at me for a while as she crossed her arms. I mimicked her actions with a smirk on my face. Her expression twisted into a scary mask of both anger and sadness.

"Do not go there. I warn you. It is no longer the place it once was," She finally said. Her voice was smooth despite the obvious strain present in her words. I was memorized by the patterns of her clothing and soon it clicked in my brain.

Choking up courage, I said, "You are from Mizuho." It wasn't a question but she replied with a firm 'yes.' "Why don't we," I began, thinking of just what to suggest. "Why don't we take this somewhere a bit more private." The woman in front of me nodded and as Rhyme and I shuffled toward the table right beside the entrance of the inn, the mysterious young lady trailed behind.

Collapsing into the nearest chair, I released a sigh, "This cold isn't any good for me, Rhyme. I liked it better when I was passing out in the heat." Rhyme shot me a worried glance and looked back down at the table. "Well, I didn't," he murmured. I looked away from him into the cloudy sky and imagined that I saw nothing except the sun. It was calming.

"I apologize for the wait. I had a few things I needed to pick up before I set out again," The woman approached the table after what seemed like an eternity. I noticed Rhyme lifted his head as she took her seat.

"What's your name?" Rhyme asked her in a sweet tone. She smiled at him as she hugged herself tightly. I guess anyone would be freezing in that outfit.

"Midori Fuishimasu is my name," Midori spoke in a bold tone. I looked her in the eyes and I couldn't believe it took me that long to realize why Rhyme was so intrigued by her. Midori Fuishimasu's eyes literally danced with colour. There were the most beautiful shades of gold and silver and the most vibrant pigments of the rainbow possible. The only issue was; this wasn't at all possible.

"Your eyes.." My mouth blurted before I could stop it from even moving.

Midori nodded in understanding. She must have noticed the guilt painted across my face. However, it looked like she wasn't going to explain the reason for it to us. Also, it looked as if she wasn't going to tell us what was up in Mizuho, either. It didn't matter to me at that moment, although. I couldn't help but fall into a trance as I watched the beautiful choreography of her rainbow splashed eyes flutter before me. I was glad Rhyme found his voice before I did lest I would've said something stupid, again.

"Midori, you're from Mizuho, right?" Rhyme asked. I couldn't see where he was going with this. Midori just nodded to his question and he continued on. "You're from Mizuho, so you must've gotten all the way here by yourself"—One more quick nod from Midori—"So you know how to get to Izoold from here. Can you maybe take us there? We don't know our way.." Figures I discovered what he was up to after the damage was already done. I noticed Midori hesitate before she answered.

"It would be redundant, but I suppose it cannot be helped," she answered him. Both Rhyme and I turned our heads to face each other with grins on our faces. As much as I knew I wouldn't be able to stand traveling with the know-it-all, I also knew this field trip would reduce the chances of our getting lost. Mizuho was so close, I could almost taste it. In fact, I shouldn't have almost tasted it. Why would Midori guide us toward Mizuho if she didn't want us anywhere near it? Before I could ask, she had already rose from her chair. Rhyme stood as well and I followed both of their actions automatically. Without a second thought or word, we all filed toward the entrance/exit of the town and I couldn't help but take one last glance at the bitter and sandy desert oasis that warmed me through the night.


End file.
